MUMBAI: Yahoo! Inc. has been sued over claims that its scanning of e-mail messages for targeted advertising invades users’ privacy in violation of state and federal wiretap laws.

The lawsuit, filed recently in federal court in San Jose, California, was brought on behalf of residents of San Bruno, California, and seeks class-action status. The case was filed one week after US district judge Lucy H Koh in San Jose issued an order refusing to dismiss a similar suit against Google Inc. (GOOG).

The interception of “any and all incoming electronic communications or e-mails to Yahoo! mail users” is used to profit from “targeted advertising, profiling, data collection, and other Yahoo! services unrelated to Yahoo! mail,” according to the complaint.

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, said in an e-mailed statement that it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.

Yahoo has beaten earnings expectations 19 times in the past 20 quarters, the most among global Internet media companies.